Tom Laffey becomes Bloody Mary's 'Big Kahuna'

After growing so big he had to manufacture out of state, Tom Laffey finally brought his "nothing but pure juice" drink mixer business back to Tennessee, and even won honorable mention at this year's Pick Tennessee Tradeshow.

How did your company get started? I've always been a foodie and I love to cook. I bartended my way through college and made the best Bloody Mary all my friends ever had. After 30 years of them yelling at me, "You've got to bottle this; the other stuff does not even come close," as a retirement hobby I decided to see how to do that. I made 10 cases and went down to one of the first Tomato Art Fests and sold every bottle I had in 15 minutes. That Monday I got a call from four local liquor distributors, saying "We want to carry your product."

Why mixers? Todd Williams, owner of Toad Hollow Vineyards, said, "Laffey, this is best damn Bloody Mary I've ever had. (You've got to bottle it) and I'm going to help you." I thought, "He's willing to help, so I guess I should take him up on that." If it wasn't for that final little push from "Toad," I probably would've not given it a shot.

Where are your products available? It's in most liquor stores (such as Frugal MacDoogal, RED Spirits & Wine and Midtown Wine and Spirits.) We're in a lot of restaurants.

Where are they manufactured? The Allegro plant in Paris, Tenn.

How long have you been making these products? These are the first couple of years we've been pushing hard to make it a big business. That Tomato Art Festival was in August seven or eight years ago.

What's next for your company? We want to expand the brand into more of a lifestyle brand, whether it's bathing suits or nice kahala shirts to food products I've made, like barbecue sauce and hot sauce.

Is this a full-time or part-time job? It's way beyond a full-time job.